29 May Ghanaian dance, travel and preparation for oral exams

Dear reader,

The week has offered many different activities, and we have had a really nice afterschool week. On the academic side, all students and teachers have been focused on getting ready for their oral exams, while there has been a bit of a break on the international line. On the more creative side, the week has included a couple of dance/music workshops - Dance Lighthouse and a group of dancers from Ghana, and then all the contact groups have now had group photos taken for their blue books.

Contact group pictures

The last pictures of the contact groups have been taken and all can be enjoyed in their best resolution on our website under Photos and flickr. You will discover many different and creative ways in which students perceive their contact group 😉

General Assembly of the School District

Tuesday evening there was a general meeting in the school circle for Ranum Efterskole College. The attending school district members were presented with the school's report and accounts, which in brief testify to a very high level of activity. The expansion from 300 to 405 pupil places and the recruitment of 17 new employees have taken up a lot of time during the school year, and at the same time the school's level of activity in teaching and travelling has never been more extensive. The result was a loss of just over DKK 600,000, which is primarily due to the fact that the state will not pay school fees for the new extra 100 pupils until August. The school's accounts and the auditor's report can be found at - link The general meeting ended with a lovely dinner in the dining room and a presentation by Matthew Danaher, who talked about what it has been like to become a efterskole teacher and settle in Ranum when you come from London.

Visit of Ghanaian dance group

A group from the Tamale Youth Home Cultural Group visited us for three days, and the students had the opportunity to try their hand at West African dance and drumming in two workshops. The dancers put on a great stage show and our own students also performed. The group is based in Tamale in northern Ghana, where students from Ranum Efterskole College have previously visited and stayed privately with some of the members. This time the group visited Ranum with four members, three of whom, Sisu, Aziz and Abou have never been outside Ghana before. They thoroughly enjoyed the visit and Abraman, who leads the group, hopes the school will come to Ghana again.

Inauguration in Ranumhus

The construction of Ranumhus is progressing according to plan and we have therefore ended the week with a topping out ceremony, which of course included a good helping of sausages on the grill!

FYI: Once the house's rafters are erected, it's traditional for the builder to hold a topping-out ceremony for the tradesmen. Originally this was to appease evil spirits, but in recent years it has been as a thank you to the builders. Failure to hold a topping-out ceremony risks a "dead bricklayer" for the builder. We were all served large sausages and long lines of ketchup. We finished off with a three cheers and a rain shower.

In a coming week, all students have oral exams in several subjects. The international students, after a week's break, have their last 4 written tests in the coming week. The coming period will be marked by the school year coming to an end, memory books being written in the common rooms in the evenings and pupils seeking closer ties in their close communities. On Wednesday of next week, we will be visited by over 200 2nd grade students from all over Vesthimmerland Municipality.They will have a different sports and activity day with a trip around the world. On Wednesday, a TV crew will also come to make a TV spot about the afterschool. This will involve all pupils who will show their best in the profile subjects. The following weekend is Family Day on Friday and Saturday. Sunday is New Students' Day all day and we are really looking forward to seeing the future students.

This weekend there are a lot of students at the school. On Saturday we will be visited by two anniversary teams from the old teachers' seminary and on Sunday a large group from the Gastronomy team will be involved in the Løgstør Canal Rally, where they will present a Danish novelty, a mussel cream bun, together with chef Lars Jeppesen. Come and taste, if you dare.
There will also be many different activities and events in the coming period - among others, we will soon have visitors from the USA, France and Sweden!

We look forward to it 😉 

Best regards and have a great weekend.

Ranum Efterskole College